Why oh why are apostrophes so hard? I have to admit even I sometimes have to drag out my punctuation book and double check when something doesn’t look quite right.
In my experience, people either use apostrophes with too much enthusiasm, or are so scared of them they don’t use them at all!
Here’s when it’s OK…
Indicating possessiveness with apostrophes
It’s probably the most common use for an apostrophe, but showing possession can be tricky. There are different rules to remember for different types of words.
When it’s a singular noun you add apostrophe s. For example:
- The cat’s bowl.
- Klaus’s bedroom.
If it’s a plural noun you add apostrophe s if the word doesn’t end in s, or just the apostrophe if it does end in s. For example:
- The children’s classroom.
- The chooks’ pen.
Forming plurals with apostrophes
You don’t usually need to use an apostrophe when you are forming a plural. For example, it’s:
- PDFs not PDF’s
- 1970s not 1970’s
- the three Rs not the three R’s.
Forming contractions with apostrophes
Contractions are words that have one or more letters missing, such as wasn’t, let’s, you’ll, and you’re. Apostrophes are used to indicate where the letter (or letters) should be.
For example:
- That is becomes that’s.
- It is becomes it’s.
- Do not becomes don’t.
Print this cheat sheet out and have it ready for the next time you are confused with how to use apostrophes. Remember that the spell check doesn’t always get it right, so have a basic understanding of the rules of how and when to use them – and you’ll be set. Good luck!
SNOBSpecialist Sally Bagshaw is the founder of Snappy Sentences – an Australian copywriting business that specialises in writing crisp, engaging and optimised web content for companies big and small. She’s passionate about readability and usability, and firmly believes that content is king. Visit this author's website.
